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Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

Geography
Urbanisation
Contents
Urban Growth
Impacts of Urban Growth
Solutions to Impacts of Urban Growth
Page 1 of 26
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Urban Growth
Your notes
Reasons for Rapid Urban Growth
Urbanisation
More people now live in towns and cities than in rural areas
Urbanisation varies across the globe and is the increase in the percentage of a population living in
urban areas
Urban settlements differ from rural ones in terms of:
Way of life: faster-paced
Size: larger
Density of buildings and people: compact and high
Economy and employment: finance, service, and manufacturing
MEDCs show the highest levels of urbanisation, with the lowest levels in Africa and SE Asia
The world population doubled between 1950 and 2015, but the urban population more than trebled
due to:
The decline of industry in developed countries, as the industry moved overseas to emerging
countries (cheaper workforce, incentives, tax breaks, etc)
This led to industrial growth in emerging countries and 'pulled' people from rural regions to urban
areas, with the hope of a better life and employment
High rates of urbanisation occur in LEDCs because:
Most new economic development is concentrated in the big cities
Push-pull factors lead to high rates of rural-to-urban migration
Cities are experiencing higher levels of natural increase in population
Examiner Tip
Natural increase does not include inward migration of people to a place, just the number of births vs
number of deaths. E.g. In one street there were 5 new migrants, 10 births and 2 deaths. The natural
Page 2 of 26
increase is 8 people because the migrants chose to move there. If they then had children, then
those children would be included in the natural increase rate.
Your notes
Factors affecting the rate of urbanisation
The main factors affecting the rate of urbanisation are:
Speed of economic development
Economic growth drives urbanisation
The faster the growth of secondary and tertiary employment sectors, the faster the growth of
urbanisation
Rate of population growth
Economic growth needs a supply of labour
This demand can be met in two ways:
Rates of urbanisation are lower in MEDCs as a higher percentage of the population already live in towns
and cities
In 1900 there were just 2 'millionaire'' cities (London and Paris), by 2018 this had grown to 512
As the growth of cities continues, the term mega city is used to describe cities with more than 10
million people:
In 1970 there were only 4
By 2000 there were 15
In 2018 that rose to 33 with Tokyo having close to 37.3 million people
Due to modern transport and communication, urban areas are sprawling into rural regions to create
conurbations, further adding to the growth of urban areas
Causes of rapid urban growth

Natural increase
Accounts for roughly 60% of urban population growth
Due to decreased death rates and higher birth rates
Urban pull factors
Higher wages
Pace and excitement
Page 3 of 26
Improved education and healthcare

Better job opportunities Your notes
Public utilities: water, gas, electricity, etc.
Government support
Rural-urban migration
Accounts for 40% of urban growth
Due to rural push factors along with urban pull factors
Natural hazards
Poor basic services - health, water, education
Rural push factors
Limited healthcare and education
Mechanisation of farming
Lack of opportunities
Lack of government support or investment
Harsh and monotonous lifestyle
Unreliable food supplies/famine
Rural reclassification
Due to urban sprawl, some rural regions are being reclassified as urban
Rural villages becoming dormitory settlements
Urbanisation pathway
The differences between LEDCs and MEDCs can be shown as a pathway over time
Countries become more urban as they develop economically
As they move through the stages, the pace begins to slow and begins to flatten out or decline as
counter-urbanisation gains speed
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Your notes
Urbanisation Pathway
Urban process timeline
Page 5 of 26
Your notes
Urban Process Timeline
Urban settlements first appear as a result of agglomeration:

People gather together in one area to sell goods and live
Small trading posts and villages began to develop
As towns grow, they expand outwards through a process known as suburbanisation:
This adds to the built-up area, but the building densities are generally lower than in the older parts
of the town
The new suburbs are made up of mostly houses but also include places of employment and
services
Urban settlements continue to prosper and grow, and people move out of the town or city altogether
and commute to work:
These are called dormitory settlements because many residents only sleep there.
They continue to have links with the town or city they have left
They still make use of urban services, shops, education, and healthcare
Counter-urbanisation
This is the movement of people from an urban area into the surrounding rural region
Causes include:
Mobility and accessibility - higher personal car ownership, increase in public transport and road
development making easier access to rural areas
Increased wealth - making housing and travel more affordable
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Agricultural decline (mechanisation and merger of farms) creates the availability of more land for
housing, forcing agricultural workers to leave the area
Your notes
Green belt - people need to go further out to get the rural life they are looking for
Second homes and early retirement - have increased the movement of people from the city to
the countryside
Urban regeneration and re-imagining
Urban regeneration and urban re-imaging are different
Urban regeneration is the investment of capital in the revival of old, urban areas by either improving
what is there or clearing it away and rebuilding
Over time, older parts of urban areas would begin to suffer a decline
Factories would move elsewhere, resulting in job loss
Quality of life and housing become poorer, people move away
Urban blight sets in
The area needs to be 'brought back to life' = urban regeneration
Urban re-imaging is changing the image and reputation of an urban area and the way people view it
Focusing on a new identity/function
Changing the quality and appearance of the built-up area
Good opportunity for brownfield site development
London Docklands was completely redeveloped and regenerated
London Docklands had new industries, more executive services, homes, entertainment, and
leisure, making it the new 'cool' place to be
Together urban regeneration and urban re-imaging = rebranding
These processes add to the continued growth of urban regions
Megacities
These are urban regions with over 10 million residents
In 2007, more people lived in an urban environment than a rural one
By 2050 it is thought that more than two-thirds (7 billion) of the world population will live in urban
areas
This scaling up of the urban environment is the fastest in human history
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Largest growth of megacities is seen in Asia

Reasons for growth Your notes
Four main factors:
Economic development
Encourages population growth which leads to the desirability of goods and services
All megacities act as service centres within the formal economic sector
However, megacities in LEDCs are also important manufacturing centres (Mumbai in India or Dhaka
in Bangladesh) with thousands working in the informal economy
Population growth
Young people are drawn to live in megacities with their vibrancy, fast pace and opportunities
There is also ‘internal growth’ where people who have moved into the cities have children, so
sustaining population growth (Mexico City, Mumbai, Pearl River Delta in China)
Economies of scale
Cheaper to provide goods and services in one place than spread across several cities
Financial savings for local governments in respect of infrastructure provision
Communication and transport are centralised, making savings in time and money
Multiplier effect
As a city prospers, it acts as a beacon to people and businesses
This encourages inward investment
This leads to yet more development and growth
Generating further need for skills and labour and job growth
This cycle multiplies the positive effects and growth continues (San Francisco and the digital
development)
World cities
Megacities have a powerful attraction for people and businesses
They are influential cores with large peripheries
World or global cities can be any size but exert particular influences around the globe
They are considered prestigious, with status and power
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They are critical hubs in the global economy

The three top (alpha) world cities are London, New York, and Tokyo Your notes
These are the financial centres of the world, each with smaller networks of world cities feeding into
them
There are only four world cities in the Southern Hemisphere:
Sydney
Rio de Janeiro
Sao Paulo
Buenos Aires
Worked Example
Identify the meaning of the term counter-urbanisation.
[1 Mark]
A Increasing proportion of people living in urban areas
Page 9 of 26
B Population movement from one country to another
C Increasing population growth on the edge of urban areas Your notes
D Population movement from urban areas to the countryside
Answer is D - population movement from urban areas to the countryside
Page 10 of 26

Your notes
Urban areas offer a variety of opportunities to people and businesses
However, rapid and unplanned urbanisation creates a range of problems, including
Poor housing
Deprivation/inequality
Unemployment
Along with congestion, transport, crime, and poor environmental quality issues
The speed of development is greatest in LEDCs, e.g. Sao Paulo in Brazil, which grew from 7 million
people to over 20 million in 40 years and is now the second-largest urban area in the Americas
Transport
The provision of roads and public transport tends to be poor in quality, size, and reliability
Rapid development leads to transport systems becoming easily overloaded and overcrowded
Urban congestion varies over the week, time of day, the weather, and the season
High numbers of vehicles create high levels of atmospheric pollution such as smog
As poor rural migrants arrive, there is a lack of affordable housing and demand is high
Transportation issues mean people will have to live closer to their employment
Temporary or informal settlements arise, adding to overcrowding and poor living conditions, so
adding to already cramped/congested conditions around the city
Examiner Tip
It is important that you use examples to support your answers. In this instance, noting that Dharavi in
Mumbai, India has a slum settlement of over 1 million people in a 2 km2 area shows the examiner that
you understand the concept of human congestion and increase the spread of diseases. This
congestion was one reason why Covid 19 spread so rapidly within the megacities particularly in
emerging countries.
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Housing
Availability and affordability of housing cannot keep up with the rate at which the urban population is Your notes
increasing in LEDCs
This leads to people building their own homes on any vacant land using scrap materials like cardboard,
corrugated iron and plastic
They are unplanned and unregulated housing (informal settlements) with little sanitary facilities,
freshwater or reliable energy supply
Usually on land not owned by them and found:
In areas of no economic value
On the urban edges or fringes
Along main roads or railways
Clinging onto the side of steep slopes
Depending on the country, these informal settlements are also called:
Favelas in Brazil
Shanty towns in the West Indies and Canada
Bustees on the Indian subcontinent
Skid row in the USA
Townships in South Africa
In LEDCs, about a quarter of urban inhabitants (1.6 billion) live in these impoverished slums and squatter
settlements and by 2030 the UN estimates that 1 in 4 people on the planet will live in some form of
informal settlement
Some cities have 'mega-slums', these are very large, overcrowded areas usually within megacities
The largest are found:
Nairobi, Kenya with a population of 1.5 million crowded into 3 sprawling slums of mud huts and
tin shacks - Kibera being the largest of the 3
Neza, Mexico City, Mexico with a population of 1.1 million people
Dharavi, Mumbai, India with 1 million people in a warren of narrow lanes, interconnected shacks
and single room living spaces that double as factories
Orangi Town, Karachi, Pakistan with an estimated population of 2.4 million people across
8000 acres of concrete block homes with 8-10 people sharing two or three rooms
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Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa with a population of 400,000 in iron and wooden
shacks
These unregulated housing present serious risks such as fire, flooding and landslides Your notes
These informal settlements typically suffer from:
Poor, overcrowded, small housing, built very close together using inadequate material and with
uncertain electricity supplies
They have restricted access to water supplies
Little to no sanitation facilities and no solid waste disposal, which leads to a polluted and degraded
local environment
There are inadequate health facilities which, along with poor living conditions, increase sickness
and death rates
The population in the squatter settlements have insecure living conditions as they may be forcibly
removed by landowners or other authorities
Issues of the informal economy
Megacities have rapidly growing populations and job creation cannot match the pace of growth
As a result, unemployment and underemployment are not unusual
People will often work on street corners doing informal work like shining shoes, giving haircuts, taxing,
selling water or food
These jobs are often unskilled and labour-intensive and require little money to set up
The informal economy leaves cities without revenue to provide adequate services as workers pay no
taxes
It also makes wages and working conditions difficult to regulate
Deprivation and inequality

Deprivation is connected with poverty and occurs when a person’s well-being falls below an
acceptable minimum standard
The minimum standard varies from country to country and applies to several different aspects of daily
life
It is more than just not having enough money
Cycle of poverty
All cities have levels of inequality, but LEDCs are amongst the worst affected
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Many low-income families are 'pulled' to informal settlements around towns and cities looking for a
sense of 'belonging' with others in the same situation
Your notes
For others without a strong social network or cities with recently arrived large populations, high levels
of crime, begging and petty theft are more common
Overall, this creates urban poverty that degrades both the physical and social environment around that
area
This makes it difficult for people to escape from poverty and they fall victim to the vicious 'cycle of
poverty’ and urban poverty becomes ingrained within the city
Combined with a lack of suitable work, housing, water supply, sewerage, solid waste disposal and
pollution, the quality of life for people in cities is low
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Cycle of Poverty
Your notes
Poverty and deprivation are passed on from one generation to the next
Children will tend to get less parental support and usually have to attend inadequate schools
They also tend to leave school early with few qualifications
Lack of qualifications means they cannot find well-paid employment and rely on social handouts
Children they have will be born into this cycle and so families remain ‘trapped’ and unable to improve
their circumstances
This feeds into a lower quality of life
Worked Example
State two social problems facing cities in MEDCs
[2 Marks]
Possible Answer:
Two from the following:
Poverty, crime, poor health, lack of housing, etc.
Remember that although LEDCs appear to have all the issues, MEDC cities also suffer similar
problems
Crime, poverty, poor housing, lack of safe water, and poor health are all seen in established
wealthy cities
Hong Kong, for instance, has a housing crisis, and many people live in cramped conditions and
have no access to health care or social support
Homelessness is common in developed cities and many people cannot afford the cost of the
rent
Impacts of urban growth on rural areas

Rise of the suburbanised village
Originally these were quiet, independent places with basic services and located near large urban areas
Also known as 'dormitory or commuter towns' and had a residential population that commuted to
work
As people have moved out of the city - retirement, family or work reasons - these areas have changed
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New, large, expensive housing estates with detached or semi-detached homes, some are gated
communities
Your notes
Urban style services increased - hence the change in name to 'suburbanised' village
The commuter belt means new roads and public transport links
New businesses such as pubs, restaurants, supermarkets and hotels have opened
Dilution of traditional country life
Page 16 of 26

Your notes
Pollution
Towns and cities have less clean air than its surrounding rural areas
MEDCs, over the last 60 years, have regulations to restrict vehicle and industry emissions
NICs and LEDCs have the highest levels of pollution
Types of Pollution, Impacts and Solutions
Pollutant Source Problem Solution
Carbon dioxide (CO2) Power stations Major greenhouse gas Laws to regulate
emissions
Industrial processes
Pedestrianize urban
Domestic heating centres
Vehicle emissions Emission charges
Carbon monoxide (CO) Vehicle emissions Reduces supply of Laws to regulate

oxygen to the heart emissions
Particulate matter Diesel vehicle Smog (smoke and fog) Clean air act
Soot from open fires Respiratory diseases Smoke-free zones
Construction dust Exhaust checks on
vehicles
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Power stations Irritates the lungs Reduce the amount of
part of the nitrogen electricity generated by
oxide group (NOX) Vehicle emissions Strong greenhouse gas thermal power stations
Higher taxes on most
polluting vehicles
Hydrocarbons (inc. Vehicle exhaust Contributes to ground- Regular checks on vehicle

benzene) level ozone emissions
Page 17 of 26
Laws to regulate
emissions
Your notes
Remove most polluting
vehicles
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) Coal power stations Lung irritation Laws to control emissions
from industry
Open coal fires Acid Rain
Smoke-free zone
Vehicle exhausts
Close coal-fired power
Industrial processes stations
Introduce new more
efficient power stations
Ground-level Ozone Reaction through Photochemical smog Catalytic converters fitted

(O3) vehicle exhausts and leading to eye and to car exhausts
sunlight chest irritation
Laws to reduce emissions
Lead (Pb) Exhaust gases from Lead harms the liver, Unleaded fuel
leaded petrol kidneys, nervous
system etc.
Water, visual and noise pollution
Pollutant Source Problem Solution
Water Raw sewage in Drinking water Improve sanitation through sewage

groundwater and contaminated works
rivers
Environmental health issues Education
such as dysentery and
diarrhoea Water treatment plants
Page 18 of 26
Visual Ugly buildings Source of stress Laws to regulate graffiti

Graffiti Impact on the social Stricter planning Your notes
structure of cities
Derelict land Improve refuse collection
Overflowing bins can lead
Litter to rats, mice and foxes
Noise Vehicles Stress Laws to limit noise levels

Industrial processes Lack of sleep Planning to separate noisy activities
from homes
Large crowds Reduced concentration
and work performance Building noise-reducing structures
Social events such as fences, trees and screens
Nightlife around motorways, factories etc.
Managing informal settlements

One challenge common to many urban areas is informal settlements
There are five management options:
1. Bulldoze and clear away
2. Clear away but relocate people
3. Redevelop
4. Improve using self-help or site-and-service schemes (self-help gives tools/training and low-cost
loans to help people help themselves, and S&S schemes provide a new or cleared site with basic
services for people to buy at low cost, with low-cost loans to buy materials to make their homes)
5. Ignore them
Bulldoze and clear away

Operation Murambatsvina (Move the Rubbish), also officially known as Operation Restore Order, was
a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country
It affected at least 700,000 people directly through the loss of their homes or livelihood and indirectly
around 2.4 million people
Robert Mugabe and his government claimed it to be a crackdown on illegal housing and commercial
activities, and to reduce the risk of the spread of infectious disease
Critics saw it as a way of driving out anyone who opposed Mugabe's administration
Page 19 of 26
Clear away but relocate people

Occurring in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya Your notes
In 2003, the Kenyan government and UN-Habitat created the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme,
or KENSUP
it aimed to improve the infrastructure and housing of 5.3 million people living in squatter settlements in
Kenya
The first step was to build modern high-rise flats and give the residents a chance to own an apartment
in the new development
The flagship of KENSUP in Kibera is several concrete buildings called “The Promised Land” by local
residents
The apartments inside are heavily subsidised and provide the formalised services that slums lack – like
water, sanitation and electricity
Redevelop
Wholesale clearance and redevelopment of squatter areas is a more drastic approach
This involves simply evicting the squatters and rebuilding the site in a more formal and organised way
This is proposed for Dharavi, Mumbai, India and is the approach taken in the UK for many old inner city
slum housing areas
The city authorities of Mumbai want to improve the quality of life of the people who live there
This includes the informal or squatter settlement dwellers
Current approaches across Mumbai are complete demolition of the informal settlements to be
replaced by high rise tower blocks for people to live in
Self-help or site-and-service schemes

Self-help schemes give people the tools and training to improve their homes. Low-interest loans are
available to help pay for the upgrading
Site-and-service schemes give people the chance to buy or rent a piece of land with basic services on
a new or cleared site. Low-interest loans allow people to buy the materials for building their new homes
In Rocinha, self-help schemes have improved the area from squatter settlements to low-quality
housing where the majority of homes have basic services like electricity
There are now services in Rocinha including cafes and shops
Some people have been granted legal ownership of the land on which their houses are built
Page 20 of 26
'The Favela Bairro Project' or 'Slum to Neighbourhood' project is a site-and-service scheme

The local authority provides residents from favelas brick houses to rent, built with electricity, running Your notes
water and sanitation pipes installed
Some people are allowed to buy these houses
Services in these areas also include refusing collection, schools and health centres
Ignore
Some local authorities either turn a blind eye to the informal settlement and hope they go away
Or they do not have the resources to commit to slum redevelopment
But in some places, such as parts of Rocinha in Rio, many informal settlement dwellers have slowly
improved the stability, durability and quality of their homes by buying better quality materials and
doing the work themselves
In some parts, people have done this so well and built such a stable community that authorities are no
longer required to provide assistance
Worked Example
Study the table below on the quality of life in four cities.
City Persons Percentage of homes Infant Mortality Noise Index

per Room with power and water Rate (per 1000 (Scale of 1–
births) 10)
Mumbai, India 3.5 57 46 9
Washington, 0.5 99 9 7
USA
Mexico City, 1.8 94 32 6

Mexico
Auckland, New 0.7 100 4 5

Zealand
NB: The noise index is on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is low and 10 is high
1. Compare the quality of life between cities in LEDCs and MEDCs
[4 Marks]
Page 21 of 26
2. Suggest two other factors that affect quality of life. Justify your answers.
[4 Marks] Your notes
Possible answer:
There appears to be no link between noise level and economic development [1]. Infant mortality
is much higher in cities in LEDCs [1]. Overcrowding appears to be greatest in LEDCs cities, with
Mumbai in India with the highest number of people per room [1]. MEDCs have a better supply of
power and water [1] but Mexico City, which is an LEDC, has a high figure [1].
1. Choice of two with justification from a list of possibilities including:
Refuse collection [1]
Mains sewerage/home sanitation [1]
Crime levels [1]
Unemployment or underemployment [1]
Transport availability - public and private [1]
Overall income levels [1]
Available health care - maternity and child [1]
1 mark each for identified factor and 1 mark for reasons up to a max of 4 marks
Case Study - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Background
Brazil is an important agricultural and industrial power, with the strongest economy in Latin America
with Brasilia as its capital
In 1950, Rio de Janeiro (Rio) was the capital of Brazil with a population of 3 million
Today it is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo) with a population of over 12.5 million
Rio is a major trading port, with oil refining and shipbuilding industries
The main exports are iron, steel and crude petroleum
Rio is also a major tourist destination and hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Migration
Rapid growth from rural to urban migration in search of jobs
Despite having a large agricultural base, there is no land ownership and few opportunities for
advancement
It is difficult and unprofitable farming, with low wages and huge wealth disparities
There is a lack of social amenities, and the area is prone to natural hazards
Page 22 of 26
For many internal migrants, the city offers better job opportunities and higher wages
Along with better schooling and healthcare and the potential for a higher quality of life Your notes
Housing
Inward migration has put pressure on services and amenities which has led to a housing shortage
Most rural migrants begin life in the favelas, of which Rocinha is the largest, most developed informal
settlement, just south of Rio
Over 20 per cent of the population live in around 1000 favelas in and around the city
Found mainly on the edges of the city, on poor-quality land that is not suitable for urban development
People have no legal rights to the land they occupy
Many of the favelas in Rio are now well-established
95% of favela homes are built of solid materials, such as brick, with 75% having a tiled floor
Some have electricity, running water, televisions, computers and access to the Internet
The newer and less well-established neighbourhoods are overcrowded, consisting of shelters made
from materials like timber and corrugated iron and clung to the side of the mountain
Transport
The rapid expansion of Rio from the 1950s was not supported by the necessary urban infrastructure
planning
Rio de Janeiro’s roads are seriously congested
Rail services are limited
Private bus services are the main means of public transport
The number of cars in the city is increasing as the population rises and people become wealthier
Underground rail services are efficient but with limited stops along its network
Education
Children start school at 4 years old
School days typically last between 3 and 4 hours, due to lack of space in the classrooms
There is no strict national curriculum in Brazil, but teachers follow national guidelines for the state
(county) that they are teaching in
Education is often low quality, due to Brazil investing late in its education system
Page 23 of 26
Many of Rio's public schools are in desperate need of repair adding to poor educational attainment
Rio has the highest rate of non-attendance in school, teenage pregnancy and lack of opportunities for Your notes
further education
Violence can be a barrier to education as in some neighbourhoods it is not always safe for children to
travel to school
Crime Rates
These have increased as the city has grown
This is due in part to high unemployment rates and petty crime such as pickpocketing
Rio has a problem with youth crime and gang violence within the favelas
Many residents feel unsafe in their homes as the gangs control the streets with guns, and trade in drugs
Environmental challenges
The majority of the favela's residents illegally tap into the main electrical grid, making electricity poles
in the street unsafe with several households connecting to the one pole
Many households in Rio do not have access to safe, running water as many of the main water pipes are
damaged and are leaking
Very few houses in the favelas have water directly to their houses
Access to doctors and healthcare varies across the city with poor access to those in the favelas, raising
the risk of spreading diseases such as cholera and typhoid
Urban sprawl is an issue as the city continues to grow rapidly, encroaching on surrounding rural
(countryside) areas
Air pollution is a major problem, particularly from traffic congestion in the city centre and from
industrial zones
Waste disposal is a particular problem in the favelas, where access is difficult and there are no
organised sewage or waste recovery systems
Sewage is not properly disposed of, or treated and this ends up in local rivers and Guanabara Bay,
polluting the water and damaging the marine wildlife there
Approaches to improvement
The government has viewed favelas as eyesores which portray a poor image of the city
Local communities, charities and government departments work in collaboration to improve
conditions in favelas
Page 24 of 26
The government has to balance improvements without attracting further inward migration and
therefore, further favela developments elsewhere
Your notes
Site and service schemes in Rio
Complexo de Alemao (German complex) has 60000 homes built with improved and regulated
materials including power, drainage systems and clean water supplies
Accessibility within the favela was improved through the construction of widened, paved roads,
providing access for emergency services and rubbish removal
Roads were given formal names and added to maps, bringing the neighbourhood into the wider city
Safety, particularly at night, was improved through street lighting
Underground cables were installed providing residents with permanent power supplies, and
effectively stopping illegal tapping into electrical supplies
The Favela Bairro Project (favela neighbourhood project), began in 1994 and ended in 2008
The aim was to provide essential services to residents and to recognise them formally as
neighbourhoods of the city
Families were taught to build stable foundations using strong materials
Residents living in homes deemed too unsafe on the steep hillside were relocated by the local
government
Solid, brick homes were built with power, running clean water and sanitation pipes, reducing the impact
of water-borne diseases such as cholera
Some residents were able to purchase the homes and were given legal rights to the land
The success of these schemes has been mixed, but many living conditions have been improved, but
the topography of the area (steep hillsides) has restricted full development
Improvements are restricted by steep hillsides, heavy rains, floods and landslides
Funding is limited, making improvement for all residents impossible
Cultural activities such as samba, capoeira and reggae are run to stop youths from getting involved in
gangs and organised crime
Self-help schemes
Sustainable Favela Network is a charity which helps to build resilience and environmental sustainability
in favelas
Many of the initiatives tackle environmental issues such as waste management, community gardens
and the preservation of natural surroundings
Page 25 of 26
These lead to improvements in the health and well-being of the residents, reducing strain on local
government's stretched budgets
Your notes
A small favela in Rio’s Tijuca Forest, set up its own bio-systems project to treat waste and sewerage in
a bid to it more sustainable
Along with a piping system, they also installed a biodigester to generate gas for cooking instead of
throwing waste and sewerage into open pits and streams
In other favelas, charities and authorities have provided training, materials and tools to people to
improve their own homes
Low-interest loans help to fund these changes
This helps to create a sense of community, improve skills, employability and reduce unemployment
With residents providing the labour, those costs can be spent on providing other amenities such as
power, water, health centres, schools etc.
In Rocinha, most of the houses are now concrete and brick, with basic sanitation, plumbing and
electricity
This has allowed Rocinha to develop its infrastructure to include bus links, hand businesses such as
pharmacies, shops and banks
Rocinha even has its own television channel on cable tv, called TV ROC
Government investment
The Brazilian Federal Savings Bank supported residents by offering them 100% mortgages to
purchase a house
This places responsibility on the homeowner for upgrading and maintenance rather than the
government, releasing funds to be spent on other amenities such as paved roads, sewerage systems,
street lighting
But many favelas are built in areas with poor access or no public transport, making getting employment
or travelling to work difficult and therefore, residents' default on mortgage payments
Page 26 of 26

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Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

Causes of rapid urban growth

Improved education and healthcare

Urban process timeline

Urban Process Timeline

Urban settlements first appear as a result of agglomeration:

Largest growth of megacities is seen in Asia

They are critical hubs in the global economy

A Increasing proportion of people living in urban areas

B Population movement from one country to another

C Increasing population growth on the edge of urban areas Your notes

D Population movement from urban areas to the countryside

Answer is D - population movement from urban areas to the countryside

Impacts of Urban Growth

Deprivation and inequality

Impacts of urban growth on rural areas

Solutions to Impacts of Urban Growth

Pollutant Source Problem Solution

Carbon monoxide (CO) Vehicle emissions Reduces supply of Laws to regulate

Hydrocarbons (inc. Vehicle exhaust Contributes to ground- Regular checks on vehicle

Ground-level Ozone Reaction through Photochemical smog Catalytic converters fitted

Water, visual and noise pollution

Pollutant Source Problem Solution

Water Raw sewage in Drinking water Improve sanitation through sewage

Visual Ugly buildings Source of stress Laws to regulate graffiti

Noise Vehicles Stress Laws to limit noise levels

Managing informal settlements

Bulldoze and clear away

Clear away but relocate people

Self-help or site-and-service schemes

'The Favela Bairro Project' or 'Slum to Neighbourhood' project is a site-and-service scheme

City Persons Percentage of homes Infant Mortality Noise Index

Mumbai, India 3.5 57 46 9

Mexico City, 1.8 94 32 6

Auckland, New 0.7 100 4 5

Case Study - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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